Folding closet bed



Jan. 19, 1.932,., A* M SOREY 1,841,648

Y FOLDING GLOSET'BED Filed March 19, 1931 f kZonta-l;V a folding bed in which the'twro pivkPatented Jan'. 19, 19,732

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AivrHiJR MSOREY, or oiiLAnonA CITYL'OKLAHOMA A ro'LDfNG cLosEr BEI) l Y .Applicationl led March 19, 1931. Serial No.y 523,797.'

My 'invention relates to improvements in folding closet bed adaptedk toV be rolled through a narrow ydoor into a closet but so folded as to occupy a vertical space slightly more than one half of that now required for closet beds. v f

The principal objects of my invention are To provide a device of this character which is new, novel, practicahuseful and of evident utility; whichf'is strong, positive inaction, durable and reliable; whichfconsists of'vbut few sturdy parts,-is easil operated, cannot get out of order easily an is efcientifor theV purposes for whichit is intended; to provide a closet bed with helical spring top c oil springs folding up into three sections with =a continuousfspringtop supporting surface a device in Whichthe said three folding sections are formed j from the' transverse or short ydimension 'of `the bed, theV center section being narrow, approximately'V as widefas twice thefthiclness of a mattress and'adapted to drop l downfrom its normal position in the center of thefbed but still remainhoprioted wider headandfoot sections fold Yup in such vertical spaced position as to form a storage place fora mattress and bed clothes; a device with heavy border wire, hinged to 4form said sections and Vsaid storage place; to provide a folding 'closet bed4 having a carriage made ofangle iron'or tubing and equipped with lrubber tired, ballmbearing swiveling casters; a device, when folded,

= which will pass throughV an average doorway or opening but willbe only alittle more ,than one-half astall as the bedis long, thus permitting the closet space above said folded bedy to be utilized for shelvesand storage; a device in which the supporting surface may be Vmade with link fabric as well as with helical springs; a device in which multiple spring tension maintains perfect balance of the bed in any position; a folding bedv which,on account of its'limited--height,niay be stored under a stairv'vayl or attic roof in ja space ordinarily wasted; a bed, when unfolded, which is supported at the centerby the carriage and at thel ends by legs which are positively positioned by automatic actuatingmeans; a

Figurell is an elevational view of my -folding-bed showing closed position by dotted lines; Fig. Qis aside elevation in folded po. sition g Fig?) is a partial section of leg actuatingmeansyllig. 4 is a.' fragmentary ele# vationv ofend of carriage; Figo is a plan view of bed carriage and'F ig. 6 isa perspective view of myfbed. Y 1 'Like'characters yof reference designate like parts'in all thejfigures. i n I It is understood kthat various changes in the form, proportion, size, shape,jweight fand other details of construction, within the scope of my invention may beV resorted to without departingV from the spirit or broad principle of my invention andi without sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, andrit Y is further understood that the drawings are to be in` terpreted'as Vbeing' illustrative kand not re strictive. Y Our modern method of living demands that every inch of space in an apartment or home be usable both day and night. In our smaller homes and efficiency apartments, a bedroom that is not convertible to another use during the day is Wasted space. In like. manner, a

demsewing room,`billiard roomf or library that cannot be utilized for a' bed chamber at night is also uneconomici Settingv asidefa spare room for guests or infrequent visitors is a waste not to be condoned whenrspace is so costly. My improvedfoldinglclosetbed, which can be quickly closed, which willenclose, "hold and protect the bedding, which can be easily rolled intoa limited space under shelves, stairsor attic roof, will make itposl @is sible to provide double duty rooms in any home. The simple, efficient, sturdy design of all the parts has made it possible to manufacture this bed at a saving of one-third to one-half of the cost of the so-called doormounted and roll-away beds.

The preferred embodiment of my invention is shown as follows: The carriage 1 is provided with rubber tired, ball bearing casters 2. Legs 3 are hinged to and support head section 6 and legs 4 in like manner support foot section 7, both of said legs 3 and 4 are properly positioned by means of leg actuator 5. Section 6 is pivoted to inverted U-frame end member 10 of carriage 1 at 8 and section 7 is pivoted similarly at 9. rIhe said Uframe end members 10 are rigidly connected in proper spaced relationship by inwardly bent side frame members 11, said members 10 and 11 are preferably made of tubing but they may be constructed of angle iron. |The said side frame members 11 are secured to members 10 by rivets 12, and said members 10 and 11 are further and more rigidly connected by means of riveted angle braces 13. Head section 6 is formed of angle iron frame 14 and foot section 7 of angle iron frame 15 well braced at the corners, the helical coiled bed springs 16 are supported by and connected to saidframes 14 and 15 in any suitable manner. The rows of said springs 16 forming the boundary of the bed are properly anchored to heavy border wire 17. Head section 6 and foot sec-tion 7 may be made up :.5' of any desired number of rows of said springs 16 and any number of springs 16 to the row but narrow midsection 18 will have only two rows 19 of said helical coiled springs, the end pairs of springs 19 being secured to a short section of said heavy border wire 17 between hinges20 formed on said wire 17. The supporting frame of said narrow inidsection 18 is provided with sled runner shaped angle iron end members 23. I provide a U- shaped handle 21 for Section 6 and a like handle 22 for section 7 by means of which the bed may be easily folded up or let down, the said handles 21 and 22 also serving as side boards to keep the mattress and bedding in place. Head board member 24 is taller than foot end member 25 as is customary, and in my folding bed said member 24 is made to span thewidth of the bed when folded so that rubber covered hook 26 on foot sect-ion 7 may be usedto lock said head board 24 over foot end 25 and securely hold mattress 44 and bedding in folded position. Members 24 and 25 are rigidly riveted to frames 14 and 15 by rivets 27 and 28 respectively. Stops 29 and 30 on frame 10 for frames 14 and 15 respectively .hold said frames 14 and 15 in proper vertical position when the bed is folded and locked by hook 26. Legs 3 and 4 are rigidly crossconnected by braced stretchers 31 and 32 respectively. Said legs 3 and 4 are brought into proper slanting position for rigidly supporting the bed when in open position by leg actuator 5, which consists of rod 33 and tube 34V into which said rod 33 telescopes. Rod 33 is in hinged connection 35 near the center of stretcher 32 and tube 34 is hinged at 36 to side carriage frame 11. The distance between hinge and hinge 36 when the bed is folded, as best seen in Fig. 2, and the length of rod 33 is such that a space 37 is formed between vthe. free end of said rod and the closed end of tube 34, but when the bed is let down the distance between hinges 35 and 36 is less, rod 33 closes up space 37, strikes the closed end of tube 34 and pushes stretcher 32 and attached legs 4 outward into proper position, the same action taking place with legs 3. While I show only one actuator 5 for each pair of legs 3 and 4, more than one for each pair may be provided if deemed necessary.

In order to provide and maintain perfect balance of the bed in any position, heavy tension balance and retrieving springs 38 anchored to side frame members 11 at 39 are secured to the inner ends of frame 14 at 40 and to the inner ends of frame l5 at 41. To insure proper fixedvangular krelationship in the carriage frame members 10 and 11, I provide cross-brace members 42, riveted to 11 at 1 46 and at their intersection 47. Coiled tie springs 43 are used to cross-connect the top free end loops of helical springs 16 and 19 and form ay resilient spring top supporting surface for mattress 44, Snubber springs 45 maintain the proper relationship between border wir-e717 and frame members 14 and 15.

As can best be seen by dotted linesr in Fig. 1, when the bed' is in folded positiomnarrow middle section 18 drops down but still retains its horizontal position. Said section 18 is held in suspension at its ends by the short section of border wire 17 hinged at20. Each of the two rows of helical. springs 19 is suspended from its adjoining row of .springs 16 travel of sections 6 and 7 about pivots 8 and 9 respectively and arrowr 51 shows how legs 4 fold up, against what is the bottom side of frame 7. when said frames 6 and 7 are locked in closed position by hook 26. The whole bed, including the springs, mattress, pillows and bedding is thus compacted' into a space having va thickness of approximately four The heavy border wire times that of mattress 44, a height of little vso Vthere were no sections at all.

more than vone-half the length of the bed and a length equal to the width of the bed. The easy running, swiveling casters 2 facilitate rolling the bed in and out of its storage space and around the room which is to -become a temporary bed chamber. rllhe car- 1 will pass through a comparatively narrow doorway and the inward bentside f. frames 11, spaced apart a distance e ual tor` the thickness of the foldedbed, will permit maneuvering the bed around a door jamb or aA sharp corner.

Wvhen the bed is to be opened and unfolded, hook 26 is released, sections 6 and '.7 Vare `let ydown by means of the handles 21 and 22, springs 88 holding the sections in perfect balance at any stage. is said sections 6 and 'l' approachL the horizontal, the free ends of rods telescoping into tubes 34, will seat against rthe closed ends of said tubes 34 and said rods 33 will push stretchers 31 and 82 with attached legs 'and 4 into stable position for supporting said sections 6 and 7. In unfolding, middle section 18 will be initially lifted by hinged border wire 17, the horizontal legs of the inner ends of angle frame members 14 and 15 will seat under endy angle member 23 of section 18, the sled runner ends of said lmember 23, as can best be seen in Fig. 4, will slidingly Contact `members 14 and 15 'and said section 18 will be raised into proper horizontal alinement with said sections 6 and 7. The Vsmall gap 48 between the ends of members 14 and 15, whenin horizontal position, willY thus be spanned by member 23, thus forming asv continuous and rigid a bed as if Head board member 24 may be made up in any desired form or design and all exposed parts of the bed may be color enameled or finished in imi-- tation wood. VFor less expensive' beds, angle iron may be used and for better grade beds, round or square tubing may be used for eX- posed frame parts. n p n Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: i 'y 1. In a folding'closet bed, in combination, a continuous spring top mattress supporting surface of helical spring top coil springs, means for folding said surface into three sections transversely of the length of said bed,

" a narrowmiddle section between two widerV 'on said U-shaped carriage members for wide head and foot end sections, inwardly bent side frame members on said carriage for maneuvermg said folded bed around a door ]amb orsharp corner, a plurality of heavy balance end members for said narrow section, adapted, when said bed is being unfolded, to seat onk and `slidably contact the inner free ends ofwsaid wide sections and span the gap between the said inner free ends, thus forming a rigid, continuous frame for said bed, coiled bed springs supported by said frame, a heavy border wire and coiled tie spring meansfor forming a continuous spring top-mattress supporting surface, hinge means on said border wire for folding said surface into three sections transversely of the length of said bed, said hinged border wire and coiled tie springs forming means for suspending said narrow middle section in lowered horizontal position when said'bed is folded.

ln testimonyr whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

ARTHUR M. SOREY. 

